Arafat: Leukaemia ruled out

2004-11-02 19:14

Paris - An aide to Yasser Arafat on Tuesday ruled out leukaemia as a cause for the deterioration in the Palestinian leader's health, and said his condition was improving.

Leila Shahid, the Palestinian envoy to France, said the determination about leukaemia was based on tests carried out on Arafat, and she spoke of a possible problem with his "digestive function".

"For the past 48 hours, he has been able to converse with his doctors and close relatives, colleagues and heads of state," she said.

"President Arafat's condition has improved sufficiently for him to undergo tests that would not have been performed upon admission," Shahid said.

Arafat, who has been ill for three weeks, took a turn for the worse on October 27, collapsing and briefly losing consciousness.

Initial blood tests performed in the West Bank revealed a low blood platelet count. Platelets are blood components that aid clotting.

Physicians gave Arafat a platelet transfusion shortly after he was urgently transported from his battered Ramallah headquarters in the West Bank to the Percy military hospital in southwest Paris.

- AP